Soul Mission

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Blue’s Clues. XP

Authors Note: Review and make me uber happy! X3

Thanks to my first two reviewers. XD This ones for you!


Soul Mission

Chapter 2 – Kiba


I am a lean dog, a keen dog, a wild dog, and lone;
I’m a rough dog, a tough dog, hunting on my own;
I’m a bad dog, a mad dog, teasing silly sheep;
I love to sit and bay the moon, to keep fat souls from sleep.

Irene R. MacLeod, - Lone Dog


Naruto swore as his plan backfired as he tumbled straight into an overgrown garden of rose bushes. Okay, so climbing over the tall back fence hadn’t been the best of plans, but it had seemed like a good one a few seconds before. Ten minutes of struggling aimlessly and swearing at the top of his lugs ensued. So much for taking the back way and trying to avoid Machiko’s son’s attention.

You wouldn’t think helping someone would be so hard but the truth was that it was a bloody difficult thing to do sometimes. Many visits to the doctors could attest to that.

Eventually Naruto managed to untangle himself, crawling out of the bushes looking like he’d just come out of a fight with five very angry cats… while in a sack. Naruto was a right mess.

All in a days work.

Finally having a chance to look around Naruto saw that the garden was in complete chaos, so overgrown it felt like he’d stumbled into the Amazon rainforest. Keeping the roof of the house in sight (the small bit he could see), he set out to find his little ghosty.

As he tramped along he didn’t bother to be silent. Anyone who was going to complain about his being here would have done it while he was stuck in the roses.

“Gawd, this place is a mess. They could at least do some garde-”

A tingle ran up his spine, stopping him mid step. It was a familiar feeling that told him he was close to what he was looking for. Changing direction, an assortment of feelings washing over him with every step he took. Anger, regret, sorrow. Naruto knew them well. They were, after all, the primary emotions he associated with someone who refused to move on.

Naruto was trying to pinpoint the exact area this angry spirit was. There was the snap of a twig from behind. Naruto spun around, hearing a vicious snarl just before something heavy hit his chest, tackling him backwards to the ground.

“Shit, shit!”

The large brown dog above, it’s paws pressed against Naruto’s chest making it difficult to breathe, moved in for the kill. Lifting an arm to fend it off Naruto tried to get free. Powerful jaws clamped around his left forearm. “Oh crap! You bastard! Get off!” While yelling he jerked a knee upwards but the dog only gave a muffled yelp as it connected.

It bit down deeper. Pain shot up his arm as Naruto continued to swear and struggle, hitting at the dog with his spare hand.

“Stop struggling.” A deep voice growled.

Naruto instantly went still. Although his natural inclination was to tell the voice to ‘shut the hell’ up and then get up to kick this bastard dog in the face, that wasn’t going to happen. Following the unseen persons advice was most probably the best course of action right now.

He looked up into dark angry eyes. After a moment or two the dog let go of his arm, stepping away with one last little growl. It stood close by, still watching but no longer threatening to rip out his throat.

Letting out a sigh of relief Naruto went to sit up.

The dog growled.

Naruto decided to stay where he was.

Turning he head to the side he searched for the owner of that deep voice; the one that had saved his life and thus had his eternal gratitude. Already he was sure that this would be the one he was searching for.
A young man was crouched nearby, half obscured by shadows. He glared at Naruto in a way that was remarkably similar to the dogs. His hair was a wild mess of dark brown spikes. When he shifted his head Naruto noticed strange red marks on his cheeks that reminded him of dried blood. There was a primal aura to this man: brother to the canine. Even his teeth were sharper than normal.

Naruto took this all in in an instant, but there was something else on his mind besides how odd the guy was, how he should get started on saving his soul and the eternal gratitude. “Hey, could you tell that mutt to er… sit somewhere else?”

The wild looking young man let his gaze flicker over to the enormous dog, his tongue flickered out thoughtfully before he gave a sharp whistle. It instantly jumped up, giving a happy tail wag as it padded over to its master. Now that the request had been fulfilled dark, suspicious eyes returned to Naruto, narrowing slightly.

“Who are you?”

“Huh?” Naruto barely heard the demand; he was sitting up inspecting his arm. There were four nasty looking puncture marks, the blood already clotting around them. It probably looked a lot worse than it was but it would still need a good clean with disinfectant later on.

“Who. Are. You?”

“Oh… I’m Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. I’m here to help you.”

“I don’t need help.” Was the quick reply.

“Sure you don’t.” Naruto said dubiously. “So what’s your name? … I told you mine.” He quickly added that last bit, complete with a frown. The childlike mentality seemed to work.

“… Kiba.”

“Okay Kiiiiba, so… you’re sure you don’t need my help?”

Kiba snorted. Why would he need help from some fool like this? He shifted irritably on the spot. How exactly Naruto could be talking to him never seemed to occur to him at all.

“Well, you might not want my help but the woman living in that house certainly does. She’s freaking about the mutt there going crazy and the stupid shit you keep doing around the place. So what’s your problem dog boy?”

Kibda snarled. If he had been a dog his hackles would have been raised. “This is my territory! I can do what I like! She has no right living here in the first place.”

Now it was Naruto’s turn to snort. “Gee, aren’t you full of it.”

“Shut the hell up! You don’t know anything!”

The dog whined anxiously.

“Look, just tell we what the problem is and why you’ve been terrorizing Machiko. Then we’ll see if there is some way I can help you. I’ve helped others before, don’t think I’m jumping into your life… er, death, just for the sake of it.”

A long silence drew out as Kiba simply stared at Naruto, judging the sincerity of those words.

While he waited for a decision, Naruto picked at his battered arm and then attempted to win a staring contest with the nervous dog. He lost, much to his embarrassment. When Kiba started speaking he scooted closer.

“My name… my name is Inuzuka Kiba. Ten years ago, in this house, I was murdered.” His lips curled back in a bitter snarl. “Still want to know more?”

Naruto nodded. “Sure do.” He knew exactly what was to come next, and though he wasn’t looking forward to it, this was something he had become used to going through. How could he help if he didn’t understand?

Lifting a hand he offered it to Kiba. The spirit gripped it firmly. His hand was cold but to Naruto it felt as real as any living persons. No other thoughts were allowed as the world seemed to abruptly drop out from beneath him, swamping his mind with memories not his own.

Bright childhood happiness. Surrounded by loved ones. Five years old and holding a warm bundle in his arms. A name; Akamaru. Friendship and devotion. So much adoration.

The younger memories were scattered, filling Naruto with feelings and odd glimpses of a time filled with such love. It made him ache longingly inside. The memories sped up, going through Kiba’s entire lifetime in a blink of an eye. Finally they reached that moment.

The memory focused so that Naruto could feel all of what Kiba had felt and all of what he had seen.

It was autumn. The leaves in the well-tended garden were just turning orange and brown. There was a chill in the air but the sun was warm when it peeked out from behind the clouds. Kiba was lazing on the lawn with an enormous white dog resting beside him.

Mother and father were away for the weekend, gone to visit relatives. The young brunette (so different from the angry, changed spirit that Naruto had just met), having just turned nineteen, was loving this chance to have the house to himself. The dog’s ears suddenly perk up (Akamaru… Kiba’s voice supplies the name with a soft sigh). He rises with a growl before padding over to the back porch.

A curious Kiba gets up to follow.

Inside the kitchen is dark and cold. Akamaru snarls and barks, the sound echoing through the room. The noise startles a shadowy figure by the hallway door. Vulgar curses mix with a shout as Kiba barrels into the kitchen.

Akamaru leaps. There is a short, sharp blast of thunder.

Blood pools upon the white tiled floor; matting in white fur. As Kiba rushes forward with a pained cry, the sound of thunder is repeated. Kiba slumps to the floor with barely a sound and the man flees.

A white ceiling, noises, worried faces, too many bright lights, the taste of copper. The beat of his heart rings in his ears, becoming slower and slower until the voices around are completely gone and the faces have long since disappeared. And then… nothingness.

Naruto was dragged suddenly away from the memories. He awoke from them face down in the dirt, gasping for air like a fish. One could never get used to the feelings of being one person and then another. Coming back was so disorientating. Focusing on a beetle that was crawling along the leaf litter he waited for the world to stop turning.

“My neighbours heard the gunshots. I died in the hospital, on the operating room table. Akamaru was already dead when he hit the floor.” Kiba sounded oddly calm as he spoke of his fate. Naruto took in a deep stabilizing breath and then sat up.

“What can I do to help? Want me to track down the guy that did it?” Ugh. How on earth would he manage that? He hadn’t even seen the guys face and Naruto wasn’t big on revenge.

Thankfully Kiba shook his head.

“So er… why exactly are you still here?”

Kiba cleared is throat, shuffling on the spot. Naruto realized that he was looking nervous and a little embarrassed. Hm.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

“Well I… I…”

The other eyebrow rose.

“I can’t find my dog.” Kiba muttered.

“Er…?” Blue eyes slid to the panting brown dog sitting beside Kiba.

“Not that one!”

“Um…”

“Akamaru you stupid dipshit!”

“Hey! I’m trying to help you. Insult me again and I’m out of here.”

“Whatever.”

Rolling his eyes Naruto ran his fingers through his hair. “Have you looked for him?”

“Of course.”

“Where?”

“The street… the hospital… I can’t really go many places you know. I’m not free to float off to Paris if I like. Besides, he died here… where else would he be?”

“You know, he might have passed on. Gone to the other side.”

“Akamaru would never go without me!”

Great. Mission of the day: find a ghost dog!

“Ok.” Naruto frowned in concentration. An idea came to him suddenly and he leant forward with an excited grin. “Hey, this is like that show!”

“What?”

“The one with the blue dog. Spot, Dot,… no, wait. Blue! That’s right! Blue’s Clues!” Naruto laughed loudly. “And the gay dude in the green shirt. You can be that guy. We find the clues! And then… the dog!”

Kiba just stared at him disbelieving. Was this guy… serious?

“I used to watch that show all the time.” He sung a line of the theme song.

Having turned an ugly shade of red, Kiba mentally counted backwards from ten.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

“Except Blue was a girl right? Doesn’t matter. Still works. I think… Oh…”

… eight.

“There was the salt shaker who was married to the pepper…”

eight, nine… no, seven! Yep, seven.

“… and baby paprika.”

Six.

“I wonder why they don’t show it anymore.”

One. “IDIOT!”

Naruto was jerked out of his happy memories of blue dogs and talking household items by Kiba’s frustrated yell.

“Jeez, don’t freak out on me. Have you tried whistling for him or something? That usually gets a dogs attention.”

“Eh…” Kiba blinked.

“You haven’t.” Naruto sighed. “Well, let’s give it a shot.”

--

It turned out that Akamaru had been waiting patiently in a kind of purgatory for his master. A few tense minutes after he whistled, the great white dog came bounding out nowhere to meet a very sheepish but ecstatic Kiba.

Poor Kiba had lingered for such a long time; not bound by anger but by friendship. His bond with Akamaru had been so strong that he couldn’t even die properly. Naruto admired his love and determination and was glad to see them both go off to a well-deserved rest.

Machiko thanked Naruto profusely for his help. It was shame he couldn’t help the lives of those who were actually breathing. But problems like Machiko’s son was something she would have to learn how to deal with on her own. You have to take control of your life and live it happily, before it was over.

It was a very self-satisfied Naruto that hurried off to the hospital.

Today’s Mission… Success!